Klarinet Archive - Posting 000966.txt from 1998/03

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Intermovement pauses
Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 16:21:57 -0500

On Mon, 16 Mar 1998, Tim Roberts wrote:
> Several weeks ago, when I saw David Shifrin perform the Brahms
> clarinet/cello/piano trio here in Portland, I noticed something I wanted to ask
> about. They seemed to have VERY long intermovement pauses, and during the
> pauses Shifrin looked out to the audience quite expectantly, with a bemused
> expression and raised eyebrows. Frankly, it looked to me like he was waiting
> for applause.
>
> Is it possible the relatively recent phenomenon of maintaining complete silence
> between movements might be coming to an end, or is this just a case of a man
> with a sense of humor trying to goad someone into incurring the wrath of his or
> her audience-mates?

Having grown up in Portland, OR and visited many of the summer Chamber
Music Northwest concerts, it seems possible there were problems with the
recording process. All of the concerts are recorded and, those that are
repeated, often edited. Sometimes there are problems which require the
artist to wait. But.....the only real way to know is to ask them!

I have never observed Shifrin wanting applause in the middle of a
work.....I have observed him interacting this way when he makes a barely
noticable error (like, not lining tongue up with fingers, or something to
that effect)......but otherwise, I can't imagine that he would expect
applause between movements. You lost the opportunity to ask him though,
and now it is just speculation.

Roger Garrett
IWU